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The electrochemical behavior of adsorbed NO molecules on a Pt(100) electrode has been studied in perchloric acid solutions by means of cyclic voltammetry. According to the literature data, a saturated NO adlayer with a coverage of ∼0.5 monolayers (MLs) is formed under open circuit conditions in an acidic nitrite solution as a result of a disproportionation reaction. The saturated adlayer is stable in the potential range of 0.4–0.9 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M HClO4. NO molecules are oxidized at 0.9–1.1 V with the formation of adsorbed nitrite anions, and they can be reduced to ammonia at potentials less than 0.4 V. In this paper it has been shown that the adlayer stability depends on the surface coverage and extent of ordering. An unsaturated NO adlayer demonstrates NO ↔ NH3 redox transformations at 0.5–0.8 V. Financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 10-03-00427), MICINN (CTR2010-1624)(Feder), and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo/2009/045)(Feder, Spain) is gratefully acknowledged.

Kinetics and mechanism of nitrate and nitrite reduction on Pt(100) electrode modified by Cu adatoms have been studied in solutions of sulfuric and perchloric acids by means of cyclic voltammetry and in situ IR-spectroscopy. It has been shown that the surface redox process with participation of ammonia or hydroxylamine at 0.5–0.9 V occurs only on the Cu-free platinum. The causes of this effect could be low adsorption energy of nitrate reduction products on copper or changes in the composition of the products (ammonia for Pt(100) and N2O for Pt(100)+Cu). Nitrate reduction on Pt(100)+Cu electrode is much faster in the perchloric acid solution (by several orders of magnitude) as compared with unmodified platinum as a result of induced adsorption of nitrate anions in the presence of partly charged Cu atoms. In the solutions of sulfuric acid the rate of nitrate reduction is considerably lower as copper adatoms facilitate adsorption of sulfate anions, which block the adsorption sites for the nitrate. The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 10-03-00427). Financial support from MICINN (CTR2010-1624) (Feder) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo/2009/045) (Feder) is gratefully acknowledged.